1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to media applications, and in particular to recording media programs using personal video recorder (PVR) functionality in a placeshifting system.
2. Background of the Invention
Television and other video content are increasingly finding a home on mobile devices, such as mobile phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), and personal video players (PVPs). For example, television programming is no longer found solely on the television. Through computer networks, as well as other delivery mechanisms, television and other media content are increasingly becoming available on these mobile devices.
As users get more accustomed to video experiences on mobile devices, and as mobile storage solutions (e.g., removable flash media and small hard disk drives) become more robust and inexpensive, the desire to add personal video recorder (PVR) functionality to these devices will emerge. A device with PVR functionality can record video data in digital format on digital storage (e.g., computer memory, hard disk drives). The device with PVR functionality can also provide other control features, such as playback, fast forwarding, rewinding, and pausing, plus the ability to skip to any part of the program without having to rewind or fast forward the data stream.
Traditionally, PVR functionality is implemented in devices, such as set-top boxes, that physically connect to a media source (e.g., television cables, satellite disks), store television programs, and transmit the stored programs to an output device, such as a television. However, existing PVR devices are typically stationary, and even if a PVR device could be transported to another location, the media source connected to the PVR device cannot. For example, one could not take a home cable subscription on the road, even if one could theoretically bring a PVR device along. Because a PVR device cannot record programs without a media source providing the media to record, the traditional approach cannot adequately provide a PVR functionality in mobile devices.
Accordingly, there is a need for a PVR functionality on mobile devices, or devices at a location remote from a media source, to allow users to record media programs on those devices.